In his working paper the author Christopher Wimmer is aming to summarise the transformation of the Vietnamese society in the 20th century with a focus on female gender roles.

In the last century, not only Vietnam’s economy has undergone fundamental changes, also the traditional family concept was significantly affected by the independence wars. From a traditional, pre-war perspective, women were seen as the “good soul” at home, while later on they became guerrillas, fighting for unity and independence as well. Nowadays, Vietnamese women are caught in an ambivalence of a traditional family concept and a modern transformation country, where many young women are struggling to find the place they are belonging to. Gender stereotypes and prejudices are still dominating the discourse in Vietnam’s society. Though, it is worth to distinguish between the political and the cultural discourse, as Wimmer’s paper proves.